Daughter of Para Transpo user fuming over protest-related disruptions

Anjali Majmudar is padding her windows with blankets and towels, keeping her blinds closed and even putting construction headphones over her white-noise-emitting wireless earbuds — all in an effort to cushion the cacophony of truck horns blaring in protest around her downtown Ottawa home. 

"I can still hear them," she says. 

Majmudar lives at the corner of Rideau and Cumberland streets in Ottawa's ByWard Market area with her parents, both of whom require support. Her father, who has stomach cancer and uses a wheelchair, has been a regular user of Para Transpo for years.

Para Transpo provides minibus and contracted taxi services to people who can't take conventional bus service because of a disability.

Once the protests against COVID-19 rules began late last week, the usual pickup spot for Majmudar's father — which must account for the side ramp on a Para Transpo vehicle — was no longer accessible, she said. 

"We had trucks parked just directly in front of our building until very recently. The horns were going 24/7, which is very difficult for someone who is undergoing chemo and radiation. And my mother is still frail from her previous cancer battle," said Majmudar.

Protest organizers have said they will stay until all COVID-19 rules are dropped by all governments across Canada, saying politicians should be blamed for the disruption and not them.

'Staff will do their utmost'

The ongoing demonstrations have delayed and at times cancelled downtown OC Transpo buses. A message on OC Transpo's website urged Para Transpo users to call 613‑560‑5000, then dial 1.

"OC Transpo understands and is aware of the significant obstacles transit users are currently facing," the city's director of transit operations, James Greer, said in an emailed statement. 

Para Transpo continues to operate in the downtown core "and staff are making every effort to get to customers," while city officials and first responders try to "best accommodate Para Transpo trips challenged by demonstrations," Greer said. 

"Staff will do their utmost best to accommodate each request," he added. 

• Vulnerable downtown residents hit breaking point as convoy enters 5th day
• As anti-vaccine mandate protest enters 5th day, some worry how it might end

John Redins, a disabilities advocate and board member for Ottawa Transit Riders, said the gridlock spawned by the demonstrations has made things very difficult for people with mobility issues to get outside and "try to have as much life as possible."

Para Transpo is already limited by not offering same-day pickup service, Redins said.

"This makes it even worse," he said.

Majmudar said her father is hard of hearing and prefers in-person appointments, but has had to settle for over-the-phone check-ins ahead of a potential operation on his stomach

He was able to get to an in-person appointment on Tuesday after the family booked a private taxi van through Para Transpo. But the experience still has her family worried, she said.

"We feel like we're not quite heading into the potential surgery as prepared as a family as we would have liked to have been, because we aren't entirely sure what he's completely understanding," said Majmudar.

She said they've considered admitting her father in hospital before any surgery, but they don't want to take away any beds needed for COVID-19 patients.